Norwalker's memoir recalls Great Depression

Published 8:00 pm, Sunday, May 4, 2008

NORWALK

By STEVE KOBAK

Hour Staff Writer

Former Norwalker Angelo "Angie" De Mio, 86, met powerful politicians, lobbied in state government, covered foreign and local stories for various media outlets and he remembers every detail of the aforementioned events.

De Mio, who now lives in Wethersfield, recalls the names, places, dates and scenery of his life's trajectory in his self-published memoir "From Beyond the Shadows."

"It was very vivid in my mind," he said. "These are things that I lived through."

The author decided to collect his memories in a book as a means of simultaneously relaying an insider's history of state politics and telling his life story to his grandchildren. De Mio said the story glimpses into the "fast-fading generation" who grew up during the Great Depression and became adults during World War II.

"It's a record of the period," he said. "This generation is often regarded as being somewhat special because they survived the Depression and World War II. In spite of that, we contributed to all of the things that made America great. I wanted to record for history (the generation's) accomplishments as I saw them."

Though he had no problem writing his memoirs, Lauren De Mio, one of Angie De Mio's twin granddaughters, helped him with the technological side of compiling his manuscript.

"She knows computers like you and I know typewriters," he said.

De Mio developed a taste for journalism during the Great Depression. In 1935, De Mio, then age 13, delivered newspapers for The Hour and wrote freelance articles for The Norwalk Sentinel.

As a young journalist, De Mio covered much of Norwalk on foot-- walking through a three mile stretch of the city each day. De Mio would go on to work for Stars and Stripes magazine, the New Haven Register and the New Haven bureau of the Associated Press.

Throughout his journalistic career, De Mio became inspired by interacting with community leaders and he developed a love for civic service. As a teenager, he became involved in a Parent Teachers Association in Norwalk and, through his involvement, helped secure milk for students who could not afford it.

"As a teenager, I pretty much became a community leader, which was quite unusual for a kid," he said. "Public service is something that I carried along at the same time that I was a newsman.

Eventually, De Mio found a calling in politics, working as a political advisor, a lobbyist and public relations director for Connecticut Democrats.

De Mio helped organize a New England visit from then-President Harry S. Truman in 1948 and shared a private moment with Truman at a Providence rail yard.

"I mentioned that, while I was a member of The New Haven Register staff, I was the only guy that predicted (Truman's) re-election," said De Mio. "This delighted him."

Eight years ago, De Mio realized that his twin granddaughters were unaware of his vast list of accomplishments and he began to update his scrapbooks. In the process, he was encouraged by a friend to write a book about his accomplishments.

Since his book was published, many local politicians have visited De Mio's residence to purchase the book. The book is currently available at the Wethersfield Public Library and the Wethersfield Historical Society.

"Those who've read the book tell me they enjoy it," he said. "One (person) told me they were amazed at the detail and my recall of detail. It all came back to me as though it happened yesterday. It's today where I forget where I put my manuscript."